Zanu PF is rigging these elections, worst you can is legitimise it by participating - Yatsvika musheche yamwa! N Garikai

“Collective active boycott is not the end of political activism, but the beginning of a political engagement to revolutionise and democratise the electoral college in Zimbabwe. The calling is not for people to do nothing. The only thing necessary for the triumph over evil is for the good men and women to do nothing, (Burke E). Collective and organised boycott is doing something. It is a call to organize, not a call for inaction,” wrote Themba Mthethwa in Bulawayo 24.

“By continuing to vote in flawed and blemished elections, we are not only refusing to make an ideological breakaway from electoral exploitation, extortion and oppression. Doing nothing is promoting and validating a system that has constantly violated our human right to vote within the framework of freedom, tranquillity, openness, transparency, equality, fairness, and credibility.

“We own the vote. It is our vote. We must trade it at best value, best service and for good returns. It is our vital currency for bargaining in return for issues that resonate with our wellbeing, emotions, aspirations, hope, wants and needs. Let us put forward the question of what kind of democracy and society we want.”

Thank you, Themba, for making sure there is not a single Zimbabwean out there who can ever say he/she did not know Zanu PF is rigging these elections and the folly of taking part in the sham elections!

What many people have failed to understand here is that Zanu PF is investing a lot of time and resources in making sure the opposition does not boycott these elections regardless how flawed and illegal the process gets. During national harmonised elections, not so with by-elections, Zanu PF has seen to it that the opposition win a few seats, hence the reason MDC have boycotted the later but always took part in the former.

"The worst aspect for me about the failure to agree a coalition was that both MDCs couldn't now do the obvious - withdraw from the (2013) elections," admitted David Coltart, former MDC senator and minister in the GNU, in his recent book.

"The electoral process was so flawed, so illegal, that the only logical step was to withdraw, which would compel SADC to hold Zanu PF to account. But such was the distrust between the MDC-T and MDC-N that neither could withdraw for fear that the other would remain in the elections, winning seats and giving the process credibility."

The opposition have pointedly refused to admit they are participating in these flawed elections out of greed (Coltart must have agonised over this when he put it is his book and, ever since, has avoided saying another word on the matter). They have dragged their naïve and gullible supporters into these flawed elections by repeatedly assuring them the elections were free, fair and credible or that they, the opposition, have devised “stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections,” as Chamisa has been claiming.

Zanu PF has poured tonnes of money paying double agents whose primary purpose has been to convince the opposition supporters and the public that the opposition can win rigged elections and therefore it would be madness to boycott elections! In fact it is the exact opposite; it is insane to keep participating in flawed elections, 38 years and counting, hoping for a different result!

David Coltart is right to say by participating in these flawed elections, the opposition and ordinary voters alike, are giving the flawed process credibility and forfeiting the opportunity to demand the implementation of the democratic reforms.

How can these elections be free, fair and credible when ZEC has failed to produce a credible, clean and verified voters’ roll?

How can anyone agree to take part in an election process in which they know that many people who should be voting will be denied a vote and only God knows how many multiple votes those hooded Zanu PF youths will cast on Monday!

No Zimbabwean out there can ever say they did not know that Zanu PF is blatantly rigging these elections. By high noon next Monday the nation will once again have its nose rubbed raw with all the evidence of blatant vote rigging.

No doubt, Nelson Chamisa and all the opposition politicians will screaming from the rooftop, “Zanu PF stole the elections!” But the world will ignore them all, because the world has warned Zimbabweans 100 000 times and 100 000 times again that with no reforms Zanu PF will rig the vote and they refused to listen.

These elections should not be taking place without the reforms. By taking in part in the process, be it attending rallies or queuing to vote (whether you do or not is irrelevant) you are endorsing it. “Yatsvika musheche, yamwa!” (If the cow has sand on its hove then it drank!) as one would say in Shona.

But better still, do not just boycott these flawed and illegal elections; make sure everyone knows that you are boycotting and why. Make sure that the international election observers in Zimbabwe know you did not agree to the holding of these elections without first implementing the reforms and that you want the observers to declared these elections null and void!

So, to paraphrase E Burke; “The only thing necessary for Zanu PF to rig these elections and get away with it, is for the good men and women to boycott the elections and say nothing but, worst of all, for them to participate and thus give the flawed process credibility and legitimacy!”